The Status Gap

On the way to work Oliver put on some light music as it was very quiet inside the car.

'In fact, I'm the only audience under the stage. In fact, I can see that you are a little reluctant...' Ava hummed along with the song unconsciously, there was a trace of sadness in the gentle voice.

Under the dark sunglasses, Oliver's sharp eyes looked at Ava and he was wondering what was she thinking? Why does she sound so sad? He felt a little upset.

Oliver turned off the music and asked Ava casually, "What did Rika talk to you about last night?"

"Nothing! Just normal talk." Ava turned her head and looked out of the window, of course, she didn't want to talk to Oliver about Sam.

"Rika is my sister and I know her very well," Oliver said proudly indicating that he already knew that Erika would be talking to Ava about Samuel.

Ava turned and looked at Oliver, she understood there was no point in hiding it from him but she still wasn't sure if she mentioned to Sam whether he was going to get angry or not. Last time he suspected them and probably this was the reason he was opposed to Sam and Erika's relation. So she decided to clarify Sam and her relation once again.

"Oliver, Sam, and I are just friends," Ava said in a low but firm voice.

Although she said that but she knew in her heart that her and Sam's relation was not that simple. Yes, she saw Sam just as a friend but Sam didn't and now Erika was into him. What a mess it was.

The moment Ava mentioned Sam Oliver's bright eyes darken and his face become expressionless. "I know." Oliver smiled faintly but his tone was cold as ice.

Although he didn't like Ava mention Samuel but he believed that she regarded him just as a friend. However, he was not sure if Samuel's feelings toward her were just friendship. He had seen their conversation on WeChat, he was a man of course he could tell Samuel liked Ava. In fact, that was the reason he was very angry that night.

Oliver was a very domineering person since his childhood, he never allowed anyone to touch his things, he would rather destroy his things than let anyone touch them. Ava was his woman so naturally, he was very possessive of her. He wouldn't let anyone think about her let alone have her. Never!

Ava saw Oliver's cold expression and knew he didn't like the topics but she needed to know why he was slandering Sam.

"Why did you say Sam was dangerous and characterless to Erika?" Ava asked curiously.

"Because I don't want her to have any kind of relationship with him," Oliver said without any hesitation.

"Why?" Ava asked confused.

"Casually speaking, they are not right for each other and there is a huge status gap between them, they can't be together. They will never be happy if end up together." Oliver said thoughtfully.

He knew his sister well, this Samuel was just a distraction for her to get her mind off Arvin and Jessica's marriage. She didn't really like Samuel. So he was afraid by the time she came to realize it, she will already make a mess with this whole situation.

Ava raised her head and looked at Oliver there was a self-mockery in her beautiful hazel eyes. She asked gently: "Huge gap in status? Aren't we the same?"

Oliver raised his eyebrows, held the steering wheel with his one hand, and held Ava's soft hand with the other, then said gently, "Ava, you should understand that certain things are different when it comes to men and women. With you and me I am going to support you and take care of your needs whether you work or not but do you think the job Samuel does he will be able to support someone like Erika who was born with a golden spoon in her mouth. It's just not practical."

"But Oliver love doesn't understand those things, does it?" Ava smiled lightly, her palm felt warm held by Oliver.

"You are right, love does not understand these materialistic things but there have to have love between them for that," Oliver said with a mysterious smile.

Ava was smart enough to understand Oliver's meaning, and she had to admit that he was right. At this moment Sam had her in his mind so she didn't know if he liked Erika or just thought of her as a friend but if Sam really liked Erika and wanted to date her sincerely then probably Oliver wouldn't oppose them anymore.

"Well, we don't know what will happen tomorrow so it's better not to be so judgmental," Ava said in a hopeful tone.

Oliver laughed but didn't say anything. The atmosphere in the car suddenly became quiet again.

To ease the atmosphere a bit Ava suddenly said, "Oliver, have you noticed that Mrs. Lee's memory is getting worse?"

"Why? What happened?"

"This morning, I saw that she was coming back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room several times, so I asked her if she needed anything. She stood there in a daze for a long time then slapped her forehead and said yes she came to take out some milk." Ava said puzzled.

"It seems her old disease appeared again. Every autumn, Mrs. Lee's memory became like this." Oliver said indifferently as if it was normal.

"What do you mean it happens every autumn? What kind of disease is that?" Ava frowned.

She was a doctor herself, she had heard of selective amnesia but never heard of any kind of amnesia that happens during any particular season.

"I don't know, I found out about this after I did some digging about her past. Mrs. Lee was sold to a casino when she was very young. She went through a miserable period there. Later, she married a man but he was very violent and would often beat her. Three years ago, Mrs. Lee had a car accident which caused her some brain damage and since then she often mixes up the events of her life. She would sometimes say her husband sold her to the casino or she would say she had a daughter instead of a son. It's very confusing." The expression on Oliver's face was solemn and serious, but his eyes looked sad.

Ava suddenly remembered that Mrs. Lee told her about her husband selling her and that she had a 17 years old daughter, so it seems she had developed some kind of memory disorder after the accident.